Vintage Dress shoe appreciation, tips, maintenance and advice

[stook1]

Gents, hope everyone is doing well -- long time....

Quick question, recently picked up a pair of Florsheim nsts in the mid brown grain leather. They are close to NOS (little shop wear). In any event, they have what I think is some mold damage. The damage is primarily along the inner neck, heel counter, quarter, and midfoot on one shoe although there is some very minor isolated damage elsewhere.

I took a stab at cleaning with renomat to try to remove some of the staining. I got a little bit of color loss from this, which is normal in my experience with more aggressive reno use. It did help but only somewhat. The staining is maybe 30% better.

I cannot seem to decide whether to leave well enough alone, clean them up and use them, OR keep at it with the Reno and see if I can further improve them, OR strip the worst of the damage with acetone and redye trying to color match the rest of the shoe (this is probably not a good idea), OR strip both shoes and redye.

What would you do?

Note that the damage is higher contrast than it seems from the pic. The shoes are wet-ish right now since I'd sprayed them down to kill any potential live mold since they smelled a little musty.

 

[smfdoc]

Gents, hope everyone is doing well -- long time....

Quick question, recently picked up a pair of Florsheim nsts in the mid brown grain leather. They are close to NOS (little shop wear). In any event, they have what I think is some mold damage. The damage is primarily along the inner neck, heel counter, quarter, and midfoot on one shoe although there is some very minor isolated damage elsewhere.

I took a stab at cleaning with renomat to try to remove some of the staining. I got a little bit of color loss from this, which is normal in my experience with more aggressive reno use. It did help but only somewhat. The staining is maybe 30% better.

I cannot seem to decide whether to leave well enough alone, clean them up and use them, OR keep at it with the Reno and see if I can further improve them, OR strip the worst of the damage with acetone and redye trying to color match the rest of the shoe (this is probably not a good idea), OR strip both shoes and redye.

What would you do?

Note that the damage is higher contrast than it seems from the pic. The shoes are wet-ish right now since I'd sprayed them down to kill any potential live mold since they smelled a little musty.

View attachment 1863917

It seems that these are a good candidate for Plan A and the Plan B. Plan A would be local treatment and see if you can even things out to a level that is acceptable. Failing that, Plan B would be to strip and redye the pair.

 

[BlueSteel]

Snagged a pair of nearly NOS (honestly don't look like they ever saw outdoors) beauties. See pics below.

Anyone care to guess the brand? I admit - the brand is fairly obscure, so this could be a toughie!

(For me the heel construction is different than most vintage longwings - normally they have an additional piece of leather covering the back seam. Not the "pigtail wrap" these feature...which are seen on some of my more expensive modern handmade shoes.)

 

[JFWR]

Snagged a pair of nearly NOS (honestly don't look like they ever saw outdoors) beauties. See pics below.

Anyone care to guess the brand? I admit - the brand is fairly obscure, so this could be a toughie!

(For me the heel construction is different that most vintage longwings - normally they have an additional piece of leather covering the back seam. Not the "pigtail wrap" these feature...which are seen on some of my more expensive modern handmade shoes.)


View attachment 1863981
View attachment 1863982

Taylor Made?

 

[BlueSteel]

Taylor Made?

No sir!

 

[Bopper]

Gents, hope everyone is doing well -- long time....

Quick question, recently picked up a pair of Florsheim nsts in the mid brown grain leather. They are close to NOS (little shop wear). In any event, they have what I think is some mold damage. The damage is primarily along the inner neck, heel counter, quarter, and midfoot on one shoe although there is some very minor isolated damage elsewhere.

I took a stab at cleaning with renomat to try to remove some of the staining. I got a little bit of color loss from this, which is normal in my experience with more aggressive reno use. It did help but only somewhat. The staining is maybe 30% better.

I cannot seem to decide whether to leave well enough alone, clean them up and use them, OR keep at it with the Reno and see if I can further improve them, OR strip the worst of the damage with acetone and redye trying to color match the rest of the shoe (this is probably not a good idea), OR strip both shoes and redye.

What would you do?

Note that the damage is higher contrast than it seems from the pic. The shoes are wet-ish right now since I'd sprayed them down to kill any potential live mold since they smelled a little musty.

View attachment 1863917

Have you tried giving them a thorough cleaning with warm water, a brush, and saddle soap or Lexol?

 

[Bopper]

Here's a recent pic of the NB Custom Autograph. The right shoe (as worn) shows a blemish on the vamp, a slight cracking. This, I believe is what occurs on the backside of creases, usually unseen. And I believe this one is due to the leather on the vamp being just a bit too long for the shoe when it was made, so it wrinkled. It's not getting any worse. I'll clean and condition them. I think it'll be OK.

 

[friendlygoz]

Gents, hope everyone is doing well -- long time....

Quick question, recently picked up a pair of Florsheim nsts in the mid brown grain leather. They are close to NOS (little shop wear). In any event, they have what I think is some mold damage. The damage is primarily along the inner neck, heel counter, quarter, and midfoot on one shoe although there is some very minor isolated damage elsewhere.

I took a stab at cleaning with renomat to try to remove some of the staining. I got a little bit of color loss from this, which is normal in my experience with more aggressive reno use. It did help but only somewhat. The staining is maybe 30% better.

I cannot seem to decide whether to leave well enough alone, clean them up and use them, OR keep at it with the Reno and see if I can further improve them, OR strip the worst of the damage with acetone and redye trying to color match the rest of the shoe (this is probably not a good idea), OR strip both shoes and redye.

What would you do?

Note that the damage is higher contrast than it seems from the pic. The shoes are wet-ish right now since I'd sprayed them down to kill any potential live mold since they smelled a little musty.

View attachment 1863917

Nice pick up. I would spray them with pure white vinegar and let them sit in direct sunlight (not a great time of year for the latter, I know). White vinegar is a great all purpose, chemical-free disinfectant. It also kills mold. I dont think it will harm the leather, but try on the tongue before using it on other parts of the shoe. Good luck and show us how it comes out regardless of the method.

 

[friendlygoz]

I posted my new J&M Hand Made 100s a few weeks ago. They came to me courtesy of a thread member. I’ve never seen a pair for sale before I bought them. Well, there’sanother pair on eBay in my size (9D). I’m not bidding as I’m quite happy with the pair I have. But this is your chance if you wear 9D or if you just want a museum pair for your collection.

Vintage Johnston Murphy Hand Made USA ARISTOCRAFT 9 D Buckle Slip On 9 1/2 C | eBay

The 2nd pair Johnston Murphy ARISTOCRAFT w/ Buckle Slip On 9 1/2 C/A. Both pair of shoes are N very good condition in our opinion.

www.ebay.com

 

[smfdoc]

Happy Sunday forum pals. 93602s in Royal blue.

 

[stook1]

Have you tried giving them a thorough cleaning with warm water, a brush, and saddle soap or Lexol?

Lexol cleaner, yes. Saddle soap, no. If the renomat didn't really work, I tend to doubt that saddle soap will but appreciate the suggestion and will give that a try as well.

 

[BlueSteel]

Snagged a pair of nearly NOS (honestly don't look like they ever saw outdoors) beauties. See pics below.

Anyone care to guess the brand? I admit - the brand is fairly obscure, so this could be a toughie!

(For me the heel construction is different than most vintage longwings - normally they have an additional piece of leather covering the back seam. Not the "pigtail wrap" these feature...which are seen on some of my more expensive modern handmade shoes.)


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Pretty unfair of me to ask for guesses on these...a toughie! These are King-Size Shoes (Brockton, Mass.). They are on David's list of US makers - he says the company was sold in 1966 and liquidated in 1967.

 

[stook1]

Nice pick up. I would spray them with pure white vinegar and let them sit in direct sunlight (not a great time of year for the latter, I know). White vinegar is a great all purpose, chemical-free disinfectant. It also kills mold. I dont think it will harm the leather, but try on the tongue before using it on other parts of the shoe. Good luck and show us how it comes out regardless of the method.

Thanks! I did exactly this a few days ago and I think I may actually go for a 2nd round including perhaps a full soak in white vinegar. Post vinegar spray down, I did a rinse/soak in water (ie. to try to avoid water staining) it looks like there may be some new mold growth on the edge of the sole. Not 100% sure but definitely want to make sure that this is addressed and the vinegar didn't seem to have any negative impact at all.

 

[friendlygoz]

AE sharkskin Warton…

 

[suitforcourt]

Florsheim shell PTBs for a live stage show. The repair package was named after yours truly. JR soles, grommets, toe taps, and cat paw heels.